| “I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.” |
| —Revelation 21:2 |
When I was about eight years old, a visiting evangelist, who also happened to be a tenor soloist, came to our church for a week of special meetings. One night, he sang “The Holy City,” with music by Stephen Adams and words by Frederick E. Weatherly. This stirring song moved me deeply.
Four years later during our Wednesday night youth prayer meeting, our youth group leader, Mrs. Isabel Young, began a three-year-long study of the Book of Revelation. Imagine my surprise when I encountered these words from the Apostle John, found in Revelation 21:2-4:
I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
As believers in the life-transforming power of the living Lord Jesus Christ, one of our great hopes and expectant joys is the anticipation of seeing the New Jerusalem for the first time. Even as we begin another new day, let us remember that we will spend eternity with God within the boundless walls of that great city. And, let us hasten to heed the nudging of the Holy Spirit to share the message of God’s love whenever He leads us to do so.
Please watch a moving version of the song I wrote about in this blog post, sung by Stanford Olsen and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.
Based on a blog originally posted on Tuesday, September 4, 2018
